Train-controlling apparatus.



WHA/5885s; v

V. HENNEIVIAN.

TRAIN coNRoLuNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I4. 1914.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

SHEETS-SHEET I.

A TTR/VEY me Nunn/s persas ca. wammruov, wasn/Nom. a

v. HENNEMAN.

TRAIN CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUGI4| |914.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 'Arm/INEI' 2 V. HENNEMAN.

TRAIN coNTRoLLlNG APPAHAus.l

APPLICATION FILED AUG.14, l9l4.

Patented'Sept. 10,1918;

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 im M V. HENNENIAN.

TRAIN CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION man Aue.14,1914.

, l 'Patented Sept. 10,1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET '4.

Amm/vn l' VALENTIN HENNEIVIAN, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

TRAIN-CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

Speeication of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 1(1), 1918.

Application filed August 14, 1914, Serial No. 856,815.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, VALENTIN I'IENNE- MAN, a subject of the King ofBelgium, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and Stateof Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTrain-Controlling Apparatus, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likereference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in theseveral figures.

This invention relates to mechanism for controlling automatically therunning of railway trains of all kinds which are provided with airbrakes whether they are propelled by steam, by electricity or otherwise.Mechanism of this kind is usually carried by the leading car orlocomotive and is'adapted to coperate with tripping means located on thetrack or road bed which may be set to cause the mechanism to operate andstop the train.

An object of this invention is to provide a mechanism having thesegeneral characteristics which is so constructed as to be unaffected byshocks and vibration due to the normal operation of the train.

An important object of the invention is to provide means which willVenable the speed of trains to be controlled from the road bed byvarying a characteristic of the trip piece by which the traincontrolling mechanism is operated.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a mechanism such thatif any essential part of it is lost or broken the brakes will be appliedas an indication of such defect. Another object of the invention is toprovide means for warning the engineer and stopping the train or both incase of accidental derangement of the rails or road bed. Other objectsof the invention will appear as the descriptiony progresses.

An important feature of the invention comprises a pivoted member whichcontacts with the trip piece to cause the operation of the controllingmechanism and is so balanced `upon its pivot that the shocks incident tostopping, starting, and making up trains have substantially no tendencyto move the member about its center of gravity, which movement isutilized to cause application of the brakes. The balanced member isprefer. ably formed as a lever pivoted between its having a .F911 1199i?911 te@ aff ranged to contact with a trip piece on the rail or road bed.Connections are made from the lever to a valve which when caused to openby a movement of the lever releases compressed air which acts throughsuitable mechanism to eifect the application of the' j the brakes areset in a giventime shall be dependent upon the speed of the train, and,

as a further important feature of the invention, means is provided whichwill set the brakes of a train that is moving rapidly at a greater ratethan those of a train that is moving more slowly, the rate ofapplication being proportional to the speed; This result is eected by amember having considerable inertia which is connected to the balancedlever. The said member, when set in motion, has therefore considerablemomentum and its momentum, and hencevthe distance it moves, is dependentupon its velocity which is of course, dependent upon the velocity withwhich the balanced lever strikes the'trip` piece; that is, on the speedof the train. The use of this arrangement in connection with a trippiece of a given height adjustment results in the checking of the speedof a train that is running above a predetermined speed while it allowsto pass unchecked a train traveling at a slower rate.

In the case of the slow train the roll of the balanced lever strikes thetrip piece gently and has time to ride over it without imparting to themomentum member or to the rotating parts any considerable momentum withthe result that the connected parts are not moved suiiiciently to causeapplication of the brakes, In the case of a train running a little abovethe prescribed rate the balanced lever and momentum member will be givemovement somewhat in excess of that required to permit the contactmember or roll to pass over the trip piece; the brakes will therefore be`Slowly applied and the engineer or motorman thereby notified of thefact that he is exceeding the speed limit. Furthermore, if the train isrunning at a very excessive speed the contact 0f the balanced level:with the trip piece will be vie7 lent that Ythe lmomentum imparted tothe momentum member will cause the brakes to be quickly set..,Thecontrolling,mechanism acts therefore as a vigilant guardian toenforce the speed rules of the road, but it does not interfere, so longas those rules are observed.

The invention also comprises means which acts, after the brakes are set,to prevent the lA further feature p of the invention is embodied inmeans byy which l.the vcontrolling means 'may .befreset by thel engineerfrom Athe c abfl andkk preferably as'ignalfis shown I and atcojunter orregister operated whenever the mechanism isV reset. The counter keepsarecord ofthe number of times the mechanism is operated andhe'nceservesas a check 'o'nfthe `engineer as to hismanner offrun- 'ning `hisy train.

.'lhe engineerniay, by operating the resetting mechanism while passin'gasignal set against him, prevent theL automatic, stop mechanism ffr'om'operating but efach such loperation is recorded'byfthe 'counter andasignal on the train," which is exposed'whe'n Vthe resetting `leveris'held up, shows to any observer4 under what conditions the trainV isbeing operated. 'f

These and other features of the invention willv appear more fully" fromthe following description, when read in connection with vtheaccompanying drawings, and will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims. Y

In the drawings 'Figure A1 is a diagrammatic view of a locon'iotive withan Iembodiment of my invention yapplied thereto.

F ig. 2'is an enlarged side view'of the portion ofthe mechanism which isattached to the cowcatcher.

. Fig. 3 is an elevation of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the trip pieces.

'Fig 'is a planvicw of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an end view of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 are respectively a side and end view of the scraper.

' Figs. 9,10, and 11 are details of the valve.

Figs. 12 and 13 are respectively a, plan and=front view of the throttlelever and the means/for'releasing it'. p

rFig.`V 14 shows the cylinder located in the cab'bywhich the throttle isclosed and the brakesset. l

, pilot 4of theflocoinotive the Icross beam of which is represented `at2. .',Ihesey parts,v

which are shown on any enlarged scale in Figs. 2.and ,3, ,comprise abarl4 .rigidly secured to (thefbeam'52. yTotlielower end of the 1bar 4is, pivoted at6,a,balanced lever 8.

:To 'contactfwithtlietrip .piece thev lever-8 carriesl preferablya roll10at one end. lAt theother end. is aweight 12 sufficient tocounterbalance the rotating parts which are `on ,the opposite V.side ofthe. centery 6. By arrangingequal weightzof the rotatingparts onfea'chsidebf theQfpi-votj6 the movements yof the .locomotive have vno tendencyto rotate the, leverabfoutl its pivot, the latter being at theAVccn'tervof gravity ofjthev lever. A bar 14. is pivotedat 16 tothe`lever Slat the rear of/the V center l6. bar 14 isy yprovided with ac'ainface 1S y,which acts onfa roll 20 on one end of a lever 22 which ispivoted at 24,l andis 'guided Vnearitsl lower'end b an encircling strap23. Opposite the roll7 2O a Vsecond roll 26 is provided which serves asan antifriction bearing for the bar 14. A.The roll`26 is preferably notl'attached directly tothe bar'4 but to a..link 28pivoted at l8O tothebar4.r Anladjnstingscrew 32 passes through a luglon the b'ar,4 andengagesthe linkA 28. The 'purpose of thisadjustment will appear yhereinaft'er.lBelow the pivot 24of the lever 422 isa slide valve 34, shown in detailin Figs. 9, lO'and 11, which bears against the lever 22 Vand Vis heldclosed thereby. The valve 34 closes the v.passage in` apipe 36 leadingfrom they-pressure tank 38 on the locomotive (F ig. y1)lto a cylinder40in the eab. Asl air pressure ismaintaiiied -in "the tank 38 at` aboutl200fpou`nds per square inch the valve'is held ,against'the' lever Y22ywith vconsiderable force land tends continuously to o'pen. When thelparts vare invl normal position with `the wide part of the bar 14between the rolls 20, 26 the screw 3 2 isV adjusted so as to maintainthe valve 34 closed. 'The valve'is held open to give `-the mechanismIlocated inthe cab time to v act by' a ro'd'42pivoted at v44 to thelever 8 and' having teeth 46 at its upper end. ,A 'catch 4,8 which isheld normally inoperative position by a spring 49, c'operates Awith theteeth ..46 to hold the lever 8' in the position to which it is movedVbythe passage of the' roll 10".'ovei" ,a JIv piece 50 which ismountedby the sid-cof the rail 45 in yproper position to coperatetherewith. The trip piece 50 has inclined faces 52, 54 and is mounted ona support 56, Fig. 4 which is pivoted at 58 to swing into and out ofposition to be engaged by the roll 10. The trip piece 50 is heldnormally in operative position by a spring 60 against a stop 64 whichhas a sharp edge to engage the piece 50. This formation insures that anyice or snow which may collect on thc parts between the piece 50 and thestop 64 will be knocked oli' and that any object that may fall betweenthem will be likely to be pushed out of the way when the piece is movedinto operative position. The spring 60 is provided with a telescopichousing 66, to prevent anything from coming in contact with the springand interfering with its action. The piece 50 is moved out of operativeposition by a rod 68 which may be connected with any of the usualsemaphore or switch signals or their operating devices or the trip piecemay otherwise be held out of operative position so that when the trackis clear or the switch closed the trip piece 50 will be swung about itspivot to a position in which it will not engage the roll 10 carried by apassing locomotive. When, however, the track is occupied, a switch openor the track blocked for any other reason, the trip piece 50 will bemoved into operative position and in case the rod 68 should break or bedisconnected the spring 60 will draw the trip piece into operativeposition and insure that the Y train be stopped and the trouble located.

Supposing the trip. piece to be in operative position and a train bepassing, the roll 10 will engage the inclined face of the piece 50 andthe lever 8 will be moved about its center 6 as the roll passes over thetrip piece. This movement of the lever causes the bar 14 to move upuntil the inclined tace 18 permits the lever 22 to move under thepressure of the valve 34 and the valve to open. The valve is held openby engagement of the teeth 46 with the catch 48 and air is permitted topass through the pipe 86 to the cylinder 40. A piston in the cylinder 40operates through a piston rod 70 and suitable connections as 72 to closethe throttle 74 and open the air valve 76 to set the air brakes.

As the throttle lever is usually held open by a catch it is necessary toprovide means by which the lever may be released by the pull of thecable 72. Mechanism for this purpose is shown in Figs. 12 and 13. Thelever 74 is held in various open positions by the engagement of a catch75 with one of a series of notches in a segment 7 7 The .catch 7 5 iswithdrawn by movement of a linger lever 81 toward the lever 74 either bythe hand of the engineer or by movement ,of a releasing member 83pivoted at 85 to the lever 74 and having a portion y87 adapted to engagethe lever 81 when a pull is given to the connection 72. A pull on theconnection 72 acts first to swing the member 83 about its pivot 85 andcause the portion 87 to engage the finger lever 81 and operate it torelease the catch 75; further pull on the connection then acts to closethe throttle by movement of the lever 74.

To reset the parts for the next operation and to enable the engineer toagain start the train, a lever is provided in the engine cab, Fig. 1,which is connected by a flexible connection 82 with a lever 84 pivotedat 86 and having an arm 88 arranged to engage a coperating arm 90 on thecatch 48. When the lever is operated to pull upon the connection 82 thelever 84 rotates about its pivot 86 and the arm 88 first contacts withthe arm 90 to disengage the catch 48 and then contacts with an upwardextension 92 of the lever 22 and acts thereupon to swing the lever 22 toclose the valve`34 and allov.'1 the cam bar 14 to drop back into normalposition. To return the lever 84 to normal position after the lever 80is released, a weight 94 is provided and on this weight may beconveniently mounted a counter or register which will record the numberof actuations of the lever 84 and thereby serve as a check on theengineer and deter him from attempting to run by a stop signal byholding the lever 80 and preventing the automatic operation of themechanism. The counter may comprise a toothed wheel 96 which isconnected with suitable indicating mechanism and is engaged by a springactuated pawl 98, the wheel 96 being rotated one tooth every time thelever 84 is operated.

A light signal is also connected with the lever 84 which acts to eXposea light, preferably colored, when the lever is held up to preventoperation of the stop mechanism thus showing an observer the conditionsunder which the train is being run. Of course, if desired, a white lightmay be shown normally and a colored light when the lever is raised andthe usual colored signals may be shown in the day time. The signalcomprises a boX 100 in which is a rotating shield 102 having a stem 104supported for rotation in bearings 106, 108. From the stem 104 extendsan arm 110 which is connected by a bar 112 with the lever 84. The shield102 has two openings, one 114 to register with the open front of the boX100 Fig. 3 when the lever is in normal position and another containingglass of a different color which will register with the onen front whenthe lever is raised.

lt is desirable that the engineer be obliged to wait a certain length oftime after his train has been automatically stopped by a. set signalbefore he can again start it. This is elfected by vthe cylinder 4.0Figs. l, 14 and 15, which retains the air pressure and holds ist thethrottle closed and brakes set even after the lever 8O has been operatedto reset the parts and close the valve 34. The cylinder, however', isprovided with a vent 118 which allows the air slowly to escape so thatafter a given time, depending upon the adjustment of the vent, thethrottle may again be opened and the brakes released.

The operation ofthe device, as above described, takes place when theengineer attempts to run by a set stop signal. It is desirable, however,that mechanism be provided that Will act slowly to set the brakes of atrain which attempts to pass a signal or stop at a speed greater than aprescribed maximum and which will allow trains to pass without settingtheir brakes if they are traveling below that maximum speed. It is alsodesirable that the brakes of a train running by a stop or slow signal ata speed very much above the prescribed maximum be set much more suddenlythan the brakes of a train which is traveling at a rate only a littleabove the maximum. These results are effected by the mechanism alreadydescribed with the addition of a weight or momentum member 120, Figs. 2and 3. This weight increased the inertia of the system moved'by contactof the roll 10 with the trip piece 50 and hence the momentum of thatsystem when once in motion and that motion will be proportional to thevelocity with which the roll strikes the stop piece 50.

When the train is moving at a high rate of speed the roll 10 will strikea harder blow upon the inclined` face of the trip piece 50, that istheroll and lever will be lifted to the height of the trip piece in ashorter interval of time and hence a greater velocity will be ilnpartedto the weight 120 thereby increasing its momentum and consequently themovement of the connected parts. This greater movement causes the Cam 18to move farther and permit the valve 34 to open wider and a lowertooth`46 on the rod 42 to be engaged by the latch 48. This, of course,causes a more sudden application of the brakes. If however, the speed ofthe train has already been reduced below the limit of speed allowed forsafety the roll 10 will ride over the incline 50 without being raisedfar enough to open the valve 34 at all and hence the progress of thetrain is not interfered with by the automatic controlling device. .Thedevice, therefore, simply stands guard over the track, permitting trainsrunningat proper speed to pass unchallenged but reducing their speed ifthey attempt to pass that point at a speed greater than is consideredsafe, the speed at which they may pass unchecked depending upon theheight adjustment of the trip piece. The trip piece shown in Figs. 4 and6, later to be described, is well adapted for speed regulation.

lIn Figs. 16 and 17 are illustrated modified mechanisms in whichfeatures of my invention may also be embodied. In these figures theparts which are identical in structure and function with thecorresponding parts of Figs. 2 and 3 are given the same referencenumerals.

In Fig. 17 only the parts corresponding to theparts 14 and 26 of Fig. 3are modified. The cam `face 18 instead of being formed on the bar 14 ismade part of a rotating member25 which is mounted in a manner similar tothe roll`26 in Fig. 3 but which comes in direct contact with theroll 20.The cam 25 is loperated by a link 15 connected to the lever 8 at theenlarged end, 12, thereof. Movement of the lever 8 obviously will bringthe low part of the cam 25 in contact with the roll 2O and the lever 22will be permitted to move and the valve 34 to open. The remaining partsof this modification are constructed andoperate substantially as do thecorresponding parts of Figs. 2 and 3. .Further description is thereforeunnecessary.

In Fig. 16 a furthermodilication is shown in which the cam face whichcontrols the valve 34 is on a lever 9, similar to the lever 8 of Fig. 3and acts on a roll 11 on a bar 21 mounted to slide freely on the support4 and carrying at its upper end an adjusting screw 33 which engages alever 25, pivoted at 27 and supporting the valve 34. The screw 33 has,of course, the same function as the screw 3.2, Fig. 3. The resettingmechanism comprises a link 41 pivoted at one end to the lever 25 and atthe other end to one end of a lever 37 the other end of which carries alink 35 having a lost motion connection with the arm 88 of the resettinglever 84 which permits the latch 48 to be tripped before force-isapplied to the link 41 to draw up the lever 25 and close the valve. Therod 42 and the weight 120 being first freed tend to turn the cam 8 back`to normal' position and the cam tends to force the valve Closed therebyassisting the lever 84. The form of the cam 19 is such that nopracticable pressure on the valve 34 can force it open.

In order that snow or sleet may not interferewith the'operation of theautomatic stopping device means shown in Figs. 1, 7, and 10 is provided,which consists of a scraper' 130 on the end of a rod 132 passing througha bracket 134 on the cow-catcher. The scraper is held depressed inposition to contact with the trip pieces 50 of the system by a spring136, and to take the draft of the scraper a link 138 is connected justabove the scraper and to a lug 140 farther forward onthe cowcatcher.

f While the trip pieces have been referred to as being connected toswitch or stop signals or to semaphore Vor block signals it vis `to beunderstood as within my invention to

